Foreign affairs dominated Syria’s agenda throughout 2006. Pres. Bashar al-Assad opened the year by warning that the country confronted “an integrated project” on the part of outside actors to weaken Syria and leave the Middle East vulnerable to Israeli hegemony. Syria’s preeminent position in Lebanon, which had been severely undermined by the withdrawal of Syrian military and security forces in April 2005, steadily deteriorated—to the benefit of Iran and its primary Lebanese client, Hezbollah. In an attempt to counteract the expansion of Iranian influence, Damascus increased material and moral support for a collection of radical Palestinian organizations operating in southern and eastern Lebanon. Guerrillas associated with one of these organizations, Fatah Uprising, clashed in May with Lebanese troops along the Lebanon-Syria border. In the wake of this skirmish, the chief of Syrian military intelligence, Gen. Asaf Shawkat, conferred with commanders of the armed wing of Hezbollah to develop a coordinated response to the Lebanese government’s efforts to impose tighter restrictions on militia activities.

Damascus also took steps to strengthen ties to Tehran and Moscow. The defense ministers of Syria and Iran signed a new mutual defense pact in June. Four months later the two governments announced plans to construct an industrial city outside the Syrian town of Homs to house a wide range of Iranian-funded joint projects. The Syria-Iran defense agreement coincided with reports of an arrangement that authorized the Russian Black Sea Fleet to use the Syrian ports of Latakia and Tartus. To protect Russian warships operating in the area, antimissile batteries were to be installed at both ports. Closer ties between Syria and Russia complemented Russian moves to establish working relations with the Palestinian radical movement Hamas; its victory in the January elections for the representative council of the Palestinian Authority was applauded by Syrian officials. (See Israel: Sidebar.)

Syria condemned Israel’s large-scale incursion into southern Lebanon in mid-July and threatened to intervene if Israeli forces advanced toward Syrian territory. Tens of thousands of refugees poured across the border to escape the fighting, and a large number of them were welcomed into private homes. Attempts by Syrian diplomats to persuade the United States to put pressure on Israel to end the fighting elicited no response. As the situation started to cool off, President Assad on July 31 addressed the Syrian armed forces, urging them to exert themselves to the fullest extent in defense of the people of Lebanon and Palestine. The fiery rhetoric of the speech stood in sharp contrast to the moderation that the regime had exhibited at the height of the crisis. In early August it was reported that during an emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Beirut, Syria’s foreign minister had suggested that Arab oil-producing countries cut off oil supplies to world markets; he was rebuked by his Saudi and Libyan counterparts. Relations with Saudi Arabia continued to sour at year’s end.

On the home front, cartoons mocking the Prophet Muhammad published in a Danish newspaper sparked violent demonstrations in early February outside the Danish, Norwegian, and French embassies. These protests were followed in quick succession by a march in front of the Council of Ministers building by workers in public-sector poultry companies and by a rally in front of the president’s office by 40 of the 81 judges who had been abruptly dismissed in October 2005. Sunni militants attacked the state television studio in June and the United States embassy in September. Foreign Minister Faruq al-Sharaʾ was promoted to vice president in February and succeeded by Walid al-Muʿallim. In March, Najah al-Attar was appointed a vice president and became the first woman and first non-Baʿth Party member to hold the post.

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